The Food Site

For Penangites who frequently eat in Pulau Tikus area, I am sure they would have heard about Top Top Restaurant which used to be at a shop along the main road of Burmah Road.I remember it used to be quite swanky (at least by my student days standard) and eating there was considered a luxury. The food is also quite good.

That was quite a long time ago and then one day, they closed down. I didn’t know what happened to them until in recent years, I heard that they are operating out of their home in the same area. Now, hearing about it does not make it easy for me to find the place. Then my personal chef (aka The Food Critic aka The Food Hunter) found out the location and we went there for dinner.

It was still as good and in quite a cosy atmosphere despite it being based in the ‘restaurant’ owner’s home. So, here’s introducing Top Top Restaurant, now known as Yaw’s Roast and Grill.

The 'kitchen' is outside in a corner of their house compound

They filled up the rest of their compound with plastic tables and chairs and even placed some tables and chairs inside their living room. And no, there is no signboard outside the house. That’s why it wasn’t easy for us to trace them until we were specifically given the address!

A view from inside the living room, looking out to more seating outside

Now, let’s get on to the menu and food, eh?

Here's a menu of the food offered here

And here are the food we ordered…

Grilled giant sausage which is the specialty of the day

They have specialty dishes on different days and on the day we went, they have giant sausage so we ordered that. Nothing really all that great about it since it is just sausage they probably got from somewhere to be grilled and served.

Mixed grill

Their mixed grill consists of lamb chops, sausage, bacon and grilled chicken breast meat. It is served with a small serving of fries and some fresh greens. It is practically meat galore with a dusting of black pepper. Considering the different types of meat on this plate, all of it are grilled to perfection and in quite a good portion size. The Food Critic could finish this whole plate of meat but he didn’t and shared it with me instead.

Chicken Maryland

We went there with another couple and one of them ordered chicken maryland. I can vouch for the chicken maryland as I’ve ordered it the first time we came here.

I ordered the fish version this time around. Of course, I shared my fish maryland with The Food Critic and my picky toddler. Here’s a closer look…

The fish is deep fried with a crispy, crunchy crust and since it’s maryland, naturally it has a sausage and a slice of ham with the fish. The fish was not bland and is rather tasty as it was probably seasoned before it was deep fried. What’s more, it is quite a big portion too…that’s why I was able to share it with my son and The Food Critic.

My other friend ordered chicken chop and it looks pretty good too. I’ve tried their chicken maryland before and since the chicken is probably fried the same way, I can safely say it is crunchy and good. As usual, the chicken is the deboned chicken thigh so the meat is tender.

I don’t know about the chicken chop sauce though.

My verdict: the overall experience of eating at Yaw’s is that of cosyness and far from being a quiet place, it is often packed with most tables occupied. So, be prepared to enjoy great western style food in the midst of chatter from the crowds there. However, it is a great place to hang out with friends and catch up while waiting for the food to be served.

The prices are pretty reasonable and I could say it goes with the portion. I would not say that it is really good food but it is good enough for me to want to go back there again. Only problem is that parking space is not easy to find as you will have to park along the roadside. It is located within a residential area after all.

Rating: 6/10

Price:$$$

Yaw’s Grill and Roast

1, Gerbang Midlands

Tel: 04-2276273 / 012-4848178

Here’s the location of this restaurant within a house.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I never did get around to asking the coffee shop owner about the restaurant name, whether they meant it to mean small or something else..although mini only has one meaning. Perhaps it is someone’s name (you know, translated from Chinese or something) or perhaps they just like the sound of it. I don’t know.

For one thing though, this restaurant is definitely not mini and neither are their portions!

Mini Restaurant over at Bagan Ajam

Mini Restaurant is more like the typical old-fashioned coffee shop where decor is minimal and the focus is mainly on the food. It is one of those ‘no frills’ eating places.

Taking a look behind the scene

I like the ‘drinks station’ with the rows of old-fashioned cups as the person in charge of preparing drinks go about mixing up the drinks for customers. Over in the kitchen, there is only one chef, the restaurant owner. As you can see, there are plenty of sauces that he used for his culinary creations.

As with any Chinese meal, we must have our chili paddy in soy sauce and chilli sauce!

Fried belacan chicken and pineapple prawns

On the left is the fried belacan chicken with the pineapple prawns in the background and on the right is a close-up of the pineapple prawns.

The fried belacan chicken is crunchy and has the salty full flavour of belacan. Great as a starter while waiting for the rest of the dishes to arrive.

As for the pineapple prawns…it is their signature dish and rightly so because it is the best I’ve ever had.  Cooked in a sweet, sour and spicy curry, the prawns are fresh and sweet. And yes, it was not only served in the pineapple but some of the pineapple was used to cook the curry. Thus it gave the curry a tart-y fresh flavour and yet, not too sweet or sour. The wonderful thing about it is that you can drink it as a soup (well, I did!) or as accompaniment to white rice.

A look at the food we ate in Mini Restaurant

From top left (clockwise): A close-up of the fried belacan chicken, pineapple prawns, a general picture of the dishes we ordered and the two different types of green vegetables we ordered.

We ordered two different types of green vegetables to go with the meal, naturally. No Chinese dinner is complete without the almost-compulsory stir-fried green veg! Since we all love green vegetables, we ordered two different types.

Just look at the spicy curry crabs!

On the right! These are sea crabs, not freshwater ones and it is cooked in a curry paste. Spicy and succulent.

Here’s a closer look…

Spicy Crabs

Although it is really, really messy to eat these, I don’t mind one single bit! It has the spiciness of the curry paste with the flavour of turmeric and chillies all mixed in. It is flavourful with a tinge of sweetness and a taste of the sea thanks to these fresh crabs.

Two other specialties

They also specialise in Guinness Stout Chicken and Char Tua Pan (fried flat rice noodles).

Now, let’s take a closer look at the Guinness Stout Chicken

Guinness Stout Chicken

It is as delicious as it looked. Obviously, they use Guinness Stout as part of the recipe for this dish, thus the dark colour. Although you may think it taste bitter because of the ingredient, it is most definitely not. Instead, it is sweet with a taste of malt to it. Sorta bittersweet. What I can gather is that they either add honey or sugar or syrup to it other than just the Guinness Stout. Also, the chicken pieces are darn tender.

A closer look at the Char Tua Pan

I am not one who goes for Hor Fan fried in a Char Koay Teow style but I made an exception this time and boy am I glad I did! This is really good as it is full flavoured with just the right amount of sauces and yes, it is so tasty, I ate more than I should.

The last one to arrive is the steamed fish

Probably because they had to defrost the fish before cooking it. There is nothing all that remarkable about this fish although I can say the fish is still quite fresh. They could not have kept it frozen for more than two days. Otherwise, I’d not touch it at all. I can’t stand eating any fish that is not fresh, especially if they steamed it.

In conclusion, this restaurant / coffee shop is a great place for a taste bud tingling experience from the spicy crabs to the sweet and sour prawns to the bittersweet chicken. I’d definitely want to go back there for more.

Rating: 7/10

Price: $$ (It costs us around RM115 for the whole meal for seven of us)

Here are the restaurant details:

Mini Seafood Restaurant / Coffee Shop

6691, Bagan Ajam

13000 Butterworth

Tel: 016-4704361 / 016-4037779

Open from 6pm - midnight. Closed on Thursdays.

Click here for a map to this place.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!